Improvement in sleeve-buttons



LCALDWELL & H. B. WINSLOW.

Improvement in Sleeve-Buttons.

No. 130,015. y' Patented my 3o, 1372.

4M. Mora-L/moa/MP//lc oo, Mn/@saon//ES Mauss) `the combined back-plate and shank.

f UNITED STATES PATE;

l JOHN CALDWELL AND HENRY R. `w1NsLow, oE PROVIDENCE, R. I.

IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEVE-BUTTONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,015, dated July 30, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN CALDWELL and HENRY B. WlNsLow, both of the city and county of Providence, in the VState of Rhode Island, have jointly invented a new and useful Sleeve-Button.

Our invention relates to that general class of buttons which are composed of a front plate and a separate combined shank and back plate, which are provided with ready means for connecting the two parts.

Our invention consists, first, in a novel comi i bination of spring-yokes with the body and removable shank, by means of which the button may be used in garments which are provided either with the elongated or the circular button-hole, be very securely held in position, and be readily detached or inserted; and, secondly, in a novel method of securing the ornamental `face-plate to the body of the button, and thereby give to it the general character of a locket; and we do hereby declare that the following specificatiorn, taken in connection with the drawing furnished and 4forming part of the same, is a true and accuenlarged scale in longitudinal section.

A denotes the shell or body of the button. InV this instance it is represented as rectan gular and rounded at the ends. It is a hollow structure and slightly ornamented. B denotes It is slightly conical at its end, and is itted tofreely enter a tubular socket, a, which projects at rightangles from the rear side of the body A of the button. Adjacent to the end of the shank it is "encircled by an annular recess, b,

`similar to many button-Shanks of its class. D

and D denote two curved finger-pieces adapted to the configuration of `the, outer ends and sides of the body ofl the button, and are embraced on each `side thereof by a `tubular spring-chamber, d. Between the ends of the nger-piecesin each chamber d is an expansive spiral spring, which forces the fingerpieces apart, so that at each end of the button they will, on being, simultaneously pressed between the thumb and finger and released from pressure, be made to move longitudinally to and fro. E and E are two slotted springyokes with closed ends. They are located within the body of the button, passing through slots in the ends thereof, and are attached to the spring-fingers at a transverse central point. As shown in Fig. 5, these spring-yokes are placed one above the other at their adjacent ends, their slots being coincident, and at their closed or inner ends they form a circular aperture coincident with the interior of the tuba-- lar socket a, and also with a circular aperture of corresponding size in a fixed guide-plate, e, beneath which the yokes slide. Assuming the shank and body of the button to have been separated, they would be practically applied for use as follows: The shank would be inserted through the butto -hole, point outward, and the body of the bu ton united by pressing the shank into the tubular socket a; by this action the conical point of the shank would force the spring-yokes to the right and left,

`advance through the opening, and by the force of their springs be suddenly and securely embraced by them. To detach the button slight pressure-at each end toward the center will compress the spring, advance the yokes toward each other, and release the shank. To detach the face-plate from the body of the button the same pressure on the finger-pieces isV requisite, for thereby the bolts t' will be `withdrawn from the slots f in the ends of the face-plate and admit of its ready removal. To replace it the saine pressure is requisite to admit the edge of the face-plateto pass down between the ends of the bolts z' and the adjacent surfaces of the 4interior of the button.

Instead of using the external spring-cham-` exterior ends of the spring-yokes might be ornamented and arranged for receiving pressure direct. The general form of the button OEEIcE.

can be readily varied to any desired extent, to meet the usual requirements of the trade.

We are aware that it is not new to combine spring-catches with the body and the removable shank of a button; but We are not aware of the existence of any combination and arrangement of these devices prior 'to our invention by means of which the stud or shank at the annular recess has been embraced at opposite points by separate devices for that purpose. TWhen embraced on one side only, and released by pressure applied at a single point, they are much more liable to loss by inadvertent detachment than when they require for displacement the moving of two releasing devices actuated by pressure in opposite directions. By having the embracing-yokes operated. in diiferent directions the extent of movement on each is about halt' that which would be required with a single catch, and

therefore the necessary pressure-points for v for detachably uniting the faceplate and the shell, substantially as described.

JOHN OALDWELL. HENRY LB. WINSLOW. Witnesses:

D. B. POTTER, WILLIAM B. W'. HALLnrn 

